System and method for distribution and dispensing of beverages

ABSTRACT

In a method for distribution and dispensing of beverages, a one-way system is used including a disposable and freestanding container blow moulded in one piece from a preform of plastics, and a tube structure having a tube to be inserted in the container and a closure cap. The thin-walled container is filled with beverage by means of the tube and then closed by the closure cap. This filled unit is distributed to the end user and connected to standard beverage dispensing means. After use, the empty container is collapsed and discarded along with the tube structure which also is made of plastics.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present inventive concept concerns a system and a method fordistribution and dispensing of beverages.

BACKGROUND ART

When supplying relatively large amounts of beverage, in the order oftens of litres, to an establishment it is known to use refillable steelcontainers, in the case of beer and such, or heavy duty refillable orrecyclable plastic containers, in the case of water for waterdispensers. The steel containers or kegs are costly to produce and tokeep in stock for a supplier of beverage, and after they have beenemptied and prior to their return trip they demand a large storagevolume for an end user. The steel kegs are rather heavy; a 20 litre kegweighs about 10 kg (empty).

WO 00/78665 discloses a beer container or keg comprising an inner hollowshell of blow moulded polyethylene terephtalate (PET), a rigid outerhollow shell of moulded high-density polyethylene enclosing andsupporting the inner shell and a spear structure including a dispensertube extending from a bottom interior region of the inner shell andthrough a dispensing outlet at the top of the outer shell. The abovepublication addresses the mentioned problem associated with steelcontainers but still only provides a partial solution since thecontainer still is a relatively expensive and elaborate construction.

While the above known containers operate in a conventional way, byapplication of an internal pressure in order to force beer out of thecontainer, an alternative solution is described in WO 99/11563. Thisknown solution includes applying an outer pressure to a flexiblecontainer, said pressure being a mechanical pressure or a gas pressure.This known system also requires several accessories which makes itexpensive and complicated.

WO 04/099060 describes a method for dispensing a beverage and devicestherefor. The system is similar to the one previously mentioned by anexternal gas pressure being applied between the container and an outerhousing, though the container is placed upside down in a tailor-madestand.

A further example of a plastic container for beer is described in WO03/008293. However, this container is to be disposed in an outer casing,such as a box of metal or paperboard.

When non-carbonated or low-carbonated beverages have been filled inplastic containers, it has been necessary to use a container withrelatively thick walls in order to ensure manageability and stability sothat the container does not collapse when being handled and/or emptied.A known example is water containers adapted to be mounted upside down ina support, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,128. These containershave a wall thickness of about 0.8-1.0 mm in order to meet the demandsof manageability and stability as mentioned above. Duringportion-by-portion dispensing from these containers, a sub-atmosphericpressure is generated inside the container, leading to surrounding airbeing drawn into the container. This has an injurious effect on thehygiene in the container and the quality of the water can consequentlynot be vouched for. Thick-walled containers result in increasedproduction and transportation costs, relative to thin-walled containers.Further, the thick-walled containers demand larger resources in terms ofdisposal systems. This is especially a problem in developing countrieswhere drinking water often needs to be transported in various kinds ofcontainers to areas that do not have access to safe running water.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide solutions to, or atleast reductions of, the above and related problems.

According to the invention, this is achieved by the provision of asystem for distribution and dispensing of beverages, comprising:

a container for beverage blow moulded from a preform of plastics, saidcontainer having a mouth portion, a shoulder portion, a base portion anda body portion extending between the shoulder portion and the baseportion, said container being freestanding, formed in one piece anddisposable; and

a tube structure comprising an elongate tube to be inserted in thecontainer and having an inner conduit for beverage, and a closureelement to be connected to the mouth portion of the container,wherein—in use—an inner end of the tube is located adjacent to the baseportion of the container for passing beverage from said inner end,through said conduit and to the closure element for dispensing.

The fact that the container is freestanding and disposable as well asformed in a single piece provides a cost-efficient container that can beproduced from a preform at the location where the container is latersupposed to be filled. After use the empty container can be efficientlydiscarded without taking up a significant amount of storage space. Inone embodiment the container system replaces a conventional keg systemfor draught beer. Compared to regular steel containers that are utilisedfor draught beer, the inventive container is more cost-efficient in morethan one aspect. First, it is less costly to produce in terms of rawmaterial costs, power consumption and processing steps. Second, sincethe containers are blow moulded from preforms on demand at the locationin which it subsequently will be filled, they do not require nearly asmuch storage space. Third, in the case of steel containers, there is aneed for an organisation handling the returned containers, whichobviously increases the costs further. Because of the fact that thecontainer of the inventive system is freestanding and durable, there isno need for the provision of an outer, protecting and/or supportingstructure. In use the container is simply placed standing uprightwithout any support, and connected to a standard dispensing system. Thisis obviously more cost-efficient than known solutions, but it alsorequires less space than if an additional supporting structure needs tobe used.

The disposable container is preferably made of a polymer material usedfor smaller size plastic bottles, for example polyesters, such aspolyethylene terephtalate (PET); polyethylene naphtalate (PEN) andothers; polyolefin; polyamide (nylon); polylactide or any combination ofthese. In the case that the container is made from polylactide, thecontainer is biodegradable under the appropriate conditions. Further, acontainer made from polylactide can be produced at lower temperatureswith the result that a wider range of scavengers can be used forprotection of the contents, of the container. Polyolefins have aninherent advantage in that they are potent steam barriers and that theyare widely used within the field of containers. Polyethyleneterephtalate is widely used within the field of plastic bottles ingeneral and is in that aspect a suitable material to use. In order toprotect the contents of the container from destructive radiation, suchas sunlight, the container may be coloured.

The body portion of the container preferably has a sidewall thickness ofabout 0.2-0.6 mm, most preferably 0.35-0.40 mm. The thinner the wallthickness the lighter and less expensive the container. Thanks to thethin-walled structure, the empty container can easily be collapsed to avery small volume before it is discarded. In this context, the inventionprovides a freestanding container that is highly cost-efficient in termsof container volume capacity per weight of container base material. Thesidewall thickness is generally measured approximately in the middleregion of the body portion.

In one embodiment the freestanding container is supported on a number oflegs which form part of the base portion. This is called a petaloidbase. Since the container is likely to be subjected to an internalpressure exceeding atmospheric pressure—at least in use—possible flatsurfaces of the container tend to bulge. Therefore the provision of legsextending from the base portion makes it possible for the container tostand firmly on a surface and still be formed in one piece.

The disposable and thin-walled container is preferably provided with abarrier against oxygen and carbon dioxide in order to prevent that thesegases diffuse into and out of the container. To prolong the shelf lifeof the product contained in the container, the oxygen barrier is animportant factor in order to prevent oxygen from diffusing into thecontainer. Also, if the contents of the container are carbonated it isimportant for the contents to stay carbonated for the expected shelflife, which is facilitated by the provision of a carbon dioxide barrier.These barriers can be achieved with known multilayer techniquesincluding a combination of polyester and polyamide with optionaladditional scavengers, and/or by doping the container material withmetal ions, such as cobalt, iron, nickel, copper, manganese, etc, asdescribed for instance in the applicant's patents EP-B-429,476;EP-B-427,751; EP-B-527,902 and EP-B-527,903; and preferably by blendtechniques. An example of a blend technique is when a container materialsuch as PET is blended with another material, such as polyamide,carrying a scavenger. This technique generally does not provide as goodbarrier properties as the multilayer techniques, but is less costly.

The barrier can also be provided in the form of coatings, such aslacquers and/or silicon oxide. Lacquers are generally applied to theouter surface of the container and silicon oxide to the inner surface,the latter in a plasma coating process. If silicon oxide is used on theinside this inhibits the use of scavengers in the actual container, andin this case scavengers are added to the tube structure and/or theclosure element. Even if the container is filled with great precaution,it is likely that a small amount of oxygen will be present, andscavengers added to the tube structure and/or closure element will takecare of this. Because of their properties, scavengers are often referredto as being an “active” barrier as opposed to “passive” barriers such asa lacquer. Barriers are generally also provided to inhibit “diffusion”into or out of the container of steam, radiation, such as UV-radiation,and aroma. In order to protect the contents of the container fromdestructive radiation, such as sunlight, the container may be coloured.

The body portion of the one-piece container can be cylindrical with anessentially constant diameter. This is beneficial in terms of a morespace-efficient packaging during transport compared to a container wherea substantial part of the container bulges radially outwards. Thiscylindrical surface is also suitable for provision of outer labels,brands, trademarks etc, as well as for being provided with a reliefduring the blow moulding of the preform into a container.

The closure element of the container system preferably comprises a checkvalve biased in a closing direction. This makes it possible to apply thevalve to the mouth portion of the container before filling the containerand makes the use of an additional transportation lid redundant. Furthera tamper and/or dust seal is simply applied covering the check valve.

The closure element can also be a pierceable cap formed in one piece.This variant is simple to produce and ensures a cost-efficient andsecure seal. This type of pierceable cap is applied after filling of thecontainer. Before use the cap is penetrated by piercing means, e.g.syringe-type needles, of a dispense head, providing for an opening fordispensing beverage in liquid communication with the tube, and anopening for injection of propellant gas, such as carbon dioxide ornitrogen.

If such a pierceable cap is used, the system is preferably provided witha dispense head having cap piercing means. In this way the dispense headcan be attached to the container without the cap being removed. The cappiercing means comprise means for putting the dispense head in fluidcommunication with the tube extending down in the beverage, and meansfor providing a propellant gas to the container.

In a preferred embodiment the inventive system is intended to replacecurrent draught beer kegs or barrels used commercially as well asdomestically. The preferred size range is therefore large, with apreferred volume capacity of 3-40 litres, preferably 15-30 litres andmore preferably 20-25 litres for commercial use. For domestic use thepreferred range is 3-10 litres, and most preferably 4-6 litres.

The container of the inventive system is preferably blow moulded from aPET preform that has been subjected to a stretch ratio on the order of10-20, preferably 12-16, and more preferably 14-16. As used in thiscontext “stretch ratio” refers to the ratio between the thickness of thepreform side wall which is basically constant, and the thickness of thecontainer side wall, at its thinnest.

The invention also refers to a method for distribution and dispensing ofbeverages, comprising the steps of:

providing a preform of plastics;

blow moulding said preform into a container for beverage having a mouthportion, a shoulder portion, a base portion and a body portion extendingbetween the shoulder portion and the base portion, said container beingfreestanding, formed in one piece and disposable;

filling said container with a beverage;

providing the container with a tube structure comprising an elongatetube to be inserted in the container and having an inner conduit forbeverage, and a closure element to be connected to the mouth portion ofthe container, wherein—in use—an inner end of the tube is locatedadjacent to the base portion of the container and beverage is passedfrom said inner end, through said conduit and to the closure element fordispensing; and

closing the filled container by means of the closure element which isconnected to the mouth portion, said closure element acting as a closurecap,

wherein said filled and capped container forms a unit for distribution.

This inventive method makes it possible for a producer of beverages tohave in-house production and filling of containers, just purchasing thepreforms and the tube/valve structure from an external supplier. Thepreforms do not require a massive storage space, and since thecontainers are blow moulded in the processing step preceding the fillingstep—after which they are loaded and delivered to a customer—the totalstorage space needed is substantially reduced as compared to thestandard keg system. Further, the producer of beverages can deliver thefilled and capped container to customers at a low cost, again comparedto the conventional keg system, and a threshold to expand into newmarkets is significantly reduced due to the reduction of associatedcosts. The tube/spear structure is generally assembled prior to beingattached to the container. Depending on the type of closure element,this can be performed before or after filling of the container, whichwill be described later on. Hence, the step of filling the container andthe step of providing the container with a tube structure can occur inreversed order.

The inventive method can also comprise the step of sealing the mouthportion of the container with a tamper and/or dust seal applied to theclosure element following the step of adding the tube structure. Forobvious reasons this step can be of importance to an end consumer.

The invention also relates to a container for use in the inventivesystem and the inventive method, said container for beverage being blowmoulded from a preform of plastics and having a mouth portion, ashoulder portion, a base portion and a body portion extending betweenthe shoulder portion and the base portion, said container beingfreestanding, formed in one piece and disposable. This gives theadvantages previously described. The container is in particular suitablefor draught beer and low-carbonated beverages, such as cider and softdrinks, but could also be used for non-carbonated beverages, such aswine, still drinks, milk, water and fruit juices.

Though generally being larger, the container is preferably made from athermoplastic polymer material used for smaller size plastic bottles,for example polyesters, such as polyethylene terephtalate (PET)polyethylene naphtalate (PEN) and others; polyolefin; polyamide (nylon);polylactide (NatureWorks® PLA polymer) or any combination of these.

Preferred embodiments of the freestanding, single-piece and disposablecontainer of the invention are set forth in the appended subclaims19-31.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the present inventive concept will be described in moredetail with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustratepreferred but non-limiting embodiments and in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematics of a first embodiment of a system accordingto the invention, in a disassembled and an assembled state,respectively, with some accessories included,

FIG. 3 is a schematic of a container produced from a preform shown inFIG. 4 and forming part of the system illustrated in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a preform (on a larger scale) for thecontainer shown in FIGS. 1-3,

FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views of a closure element forming part ofthe system illustrated in FIG. 1, in an open and a closed position,respectively,

FIG. 7 shows an alternative closure element used in a second embodiment,

FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative dispense head used for a containerprovided with the cap of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system according to a preferredembodiment of the invention. The system comprises a freestanding anddisposable container 100 for beverage, a tube or spear structure 104comprising a closure or valve element 102 and a tube 136. A handle 106can optionally be attached to the upper portion of the container 100 fortransportation purposes.

The container 100 further illustrated in FIG. 3 is formed in one pieceand generally comprises a neck finish or mouth portion 108, a shoulderportion 110, a body portion 112 and a base portion 114. The mouthportion 108 has circumferential flanges 116 for engagement with thevalve element 102 which has a mating circumferential groove/flangearrangement 119 (FIGS. 5-6). The container 100 has a petaloid baseportion 114 to make it freestanding. The thickness of the sidewall ofthe body portion 112 is approximately 0.40 mm.

The container 100 is blow moulded from an injection moulded parison orpreform 113 of plastics. The preform 113 has a wall thickness ofapproximately 5 mm and the plastic material comprises about 94%polyethylene terephtalate and about 6% polyamide.

The container wall has a barrier against diffusion of oxygen and carbondioxide. Preferably, cobalt ions are used as scavenger substance blendedinto the polyamide.

The weight of the preform 113 used is 233 g for a 20 litre container100, and the weight of the tube/valve assembly 104 is about 40 g. Thus,a complete 20 litre container 100 according to this embodiment ready forfilling weighs only about 273 g which is a great advantage compared toheavy duty steel kegs which weigh about 10 kg for the same volume.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the valve element 102 effectively forms partof the spear structure 104 which is used to dispense beverage from thecontainer 100. The valve element 102 comprises a structural body 118with an essentially rotationally symmetrical shape. The structural body113 has an annular groove 120 for receiving a rim 122 of the containermouth portion 108 with a close fit. As the valve element 102 is slippedonto the mouth portion 108, the annular groove 120 will receive the rim122, as described above, and as the valve element 102 is slipped furtherthe circumferential groove/flange arrangement 119 will engage with thecircumferential flange 116 of the mouth portion 108 in a snap-lockengagement which can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. An O-ring 124 arrangedaround the mouth portion 108 is clamped between the mouth portion 108and the valve element 102 and thus provides a seal.

The valve element 102 further comprises a valve portion 126concentrically arranged in the valve element 102 acting as a cap. Thisvalve portion 126 generally comprises an annular valve member 128 thatis spring biased from below towards the upper part of the valve element102. The annular valve member 128 is sealingly received in a matingannular concentric gap 130 in the upper part of the valve element 102. Aspring 132 biasing the valve member 128 in a closing direction isfastened, see FIG. 5, to a central part of the valve element 102 and isarranged concentrically around a cylindrical member 134 having one endsealed flush with the upper part of the valve element 102 and anotherend adapted to receive an upper end 136 a of the tube 136. Between thetwo ends of the cylindrical member 134 there is provided radial holes135 so that beverage being forced up the tube 136 can exit thecylindrical member 134. If the valve member 128 is depressed, see FIG.6, the beverage, in this preferred embodiment draught beer or cider,will exit the container 100, and if the valve member 128 is biasedtowards the annular gap 130 the beverage cannot exit.

The elongate tube or spear 136 of the spear structure 104 extends fromthe valve element 102 and into the container 100. The tube 136 has ahollow conduit 137 and the upper end 136 a inserted in the valve element102 as previously described, an inner end 136 b being left open for thebeverage to enter (FIGS. 1-2).

The spear structure 104 comprising the elongate tube 136 and the valveelement 102 is made from polyester, polyolefin, polyamide or similar,apart from the spring 132 which is made of stainless steel. The elongatetube 136 as well as the closure or valve element 102 is generally madefrom essentially the same group of materials as the container 100, andthe tube 136 is quite flexible in the preferred embodiment.

In order to provide an adequate seal of the container 100, at least anouter portion of the annular valve member 128, abutting the edges of theannular concentric gap 130, is made from a material that is softer thanthe rest of the valve element 102. In order to provide a rigid annularvalve member 128, which can be important to the sealing and abutmentproperties, the interior of the annular valve member 128 can comprise arigid core (not shown) of a harder material than the outer abutmentportion.

Filling of the disposable container 100 with a carbonated beverage (suchas beer) is generally conducted in the following manner. Once the spearstructure 104 is assembled as a unit 102, 136 it is attached to thecontainer 100 with the tube 136 inserted into the container 100. Thenthe container 100 is placed upside down in a filling station (notshown). Air inside the container 100 is flushed out by carbon dioxide,and an overpressure (a filling pressure) is established. These measuresare taken in order to minimise the risk of foam being produced duringfilling, which would slow down the filling procedure. If the risk offoam production is low, said measures can obviously be cancelled. Duringfilling the annular valve member 128 is depressed so that beverage canbe injected into the container 100. Gas contained in the container 100is forced out upwards through the elongate tube 136. The container 100could also be filled prior to the arrangement of the spear structure104, similar to what will be described in the context of the secondembodiment, though this makes less use of the properties of the valveelement 102.

Hence, the container producing and beverage filling comprises: blowmoulding thin-walled PET containers, attaching the spear/valve structureto the containers and filling these with beverage in the mannerdescribed above. The filled containers are stored and then delivered tothe customers.

To facilitate transportation the handle 106 can be attached to the mouthportion 108 of the container 100, preferably by sliding it over themouth portion 108 and fixing it to the container 100 by mounting thevalve element 102 to the mouth portion 108 (see FIG. 3). After thefilling of the container 100 the valve element 102 is preferablyprovided with means for dust protection and tamper evidence, such as afoil (not shown).

In use a dispense head 138 is coupled to the valve element 102, and byoperating a lever 138 a of the dispense head 138 a propellant gas,typically nitrogen or carbon dioxide from an external source (notshown), will be injected into the container 100 through the inlet 138 b.Hence, beverage is forced to exit the container 100 through the spearstructure 104 and out of the dispense head 138 by an outlet 138 c towhich a conventional tapping unit (not shown) is connected. Thesuper-atmospheric pressure will thus help maintaining the form andstability of the container 100.

When the container 100 is emptied of beverage the dispense head 108 isdisconnected and the container 100 is collapsed and discarded. Thespear/valve structure 104 is also discarded. Hence, a true one-waysystem is achieved.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative and less complex closure element in the formof a pierceable plastic cap 140. Before being attached to the mouthportion 108 of the container 100 the cap 140 is provided with anelongate tube 136′ similar to the elongate tube 136 of the firstembodiment. The tube is indicated by phantom lines extending from thecap 140. Prior to being provided with the pierceable cap 140 and thetube 136′, the container 100 is filled in the following manner: Air isfirst flushed from the container 100 which stands upright, by use ofcarbon dioxide or nitrogen in order to make the filling procedure moreefficient. A filling pressure is optionally provided. An elongatefilling nozzle (not shown) is inserted into the container 100 which iskept upright, and the beverage is filled into the container 100. Thefilling rate is slower at the beginning until approximately a decimetreof beverage is filled into the container 100, and the nozzle orifice issubmerged. Then, the filling rate increases until the container 100 isfilled, after which the pierceable cap 140 and the associated elongatetube 136′ are attached to the container 100.

In use a dispense head 142, schematically shown in FIG. 8, is connectedto the pierceable cap 140 and syringe-like needles 144, 146 having cappiercing capability penetrate the cap 140. A first needle 144 is fluidlyconnected to the tube 136′ for dispensing beverage, and a second needle146 is fluidly connected in order to provide a propellant gas, generallynitrogen or carbon dioxide, to the inside of the container 100. Afteruse the pierceable cap 140 is discarded.

The dispensing of the filled container 100 and the disposal of the sameare basically the same as described earlier. The empty container 100 isdiscarded, as is the spear/valve structure.

Finally it should be emphasised that the inventive concept is notlimited to the embodiments described here, and the skilled personanticipates that modifications are feasible within the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims. For instance, thefreestanding feature of the container can be achieved by achampagne-type base. Furthermore, alternative means for closure of thecontainer mouth portion may be used.

1. A system for distribution and dispensing of beverages, comprising: acontainer for beverage blow moulded from a preform of plastics, saidcontainer having a mouth portion, a shoulder portion, a base portion anda body portion extending between the shoulder portion and the baseportion, said container being freestanding, formed in one piece anddisposable; and a tube structure comprising an elongate tube to beinserted in the container and having an inner conduit for beverage, anda closure element to be connected to the mouth portion of the container,wherein—in use—an inner end of the tube is located adjacent to the baseportion of the container for passing beverage from said inner end,through said conduit and to the closure element for dispensing.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the container is made from at least one ofthe group consisting of polyesters, such as polyethylene terephtalate,polyethylene naphtalate and others; polyolefin; polyamide; polylactideor any combination of these.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thesidewall thickness of the container body portion is approximately0.2-0.6 mm.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the sidewall thickness ofthe container body portion is approximately 0.35-0.40 mm.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the container base portion is a petaloid base. 6.The system of claim 1, wherein the container base portion is achampagne-type base.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the containerwall has a barrier against oxygen and carbon dioxide.
 8. The system ofclaim 7, wherein said barrier is achieved by multilayer technique orblend technique.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein said barrier isachieved by application of a coating.
 10. The system of claim 7, whereinsaid barrier is achieved by a metal ion doping.
 11. The system of claim1, wherein at least a portion of the tube structure is provided with ascavenger or coating.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the containerbody portion is essentially cylindrical.
 13. The system of claim 1,wherein the closure element comprises a check valve.
 14. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the closure element comprises a cap having pierceableportions.
 15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a dispense headprovided with at least one cap piercing means.
 16. The system of claim1, wherein the container has a capacity of 10-40 litres, preferably15-30 litres and more preferably 20-25 litres.
 17. A method fordistribution and dispensing of beverages, comprising the steps of:providing a preform of plastics; blow moulding said preform into acontainer for beverage having a mouth portion, a shoulder portion, abase portion and a body portion extending between the shoulder portionand the base portion, said container being freestanding, formed in onepiece and disposable; filling said container with a beverage; providingthe container with a tube structure comprising an elongate tube to beinserted in the container and having an inner conduit for beverage, anda closure element to be connected to the mouth portion of the container,wherein—in use—an inner end of the tube is located adjacent to the baseportion of the container and beverage is passed from said inner end,through said conduit and to the closure element for dispensing; andclosing the filled container by means of the closure element which isconnected to the mouth portion, said closure element acting as a closurecap, wherein said filled and capped container forms a unit fordistribution.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the stepof: sealing the mouth portion of the container with a tamper and/or dustseal applied to the valve element.
 19. A container for a systemaccording to claim 1, said container for beverage being blow mouldedfrom a preform of plastics and having a mouth portion, a shoulderportion, a base portion and a body portion extending between theshoulder portion and the base portion, said container beingfreestanding, formed in one piece and disposable.
 20. The container ofclaim 19, wherein the container is made from at least one in the groupconsisting of polyesters, such as polyethylene terephtalate,polyethylene naphtalate and others; polyolefin; polyamide; polylactideor any combination of these.
 21. The container of claim 19, wherein thewall thickness of the body portion is approximately 0.2-0.6 mm.
 22. Thecontainer of claim 21, wherein the sidewall thickness of the bodyportion is approximately 0.35-0.40 mm.
 23. The container of claim 19,wherein the container base portion has a petaloid base.
 24. Thecontainer of claim 19, wherein the container base portion has achampagne-type base.
 25. The container of claim 19, wherein thecontainer wall has a barrier against oxygen and carbon dioxide.
 26. Thecontainer of claim 25, wherein said barrier is achieved by multilayertechnique or blend technique.
 27. The container of claim 25, whereinsaid barrier is achieved by application of a coating.
 28. The containerof claim 25, wherein said barrier is achieved by a metal ion doping. 29.The container of claim 25, wherein said barrier is achieved by colouringof the container.
 30. The container system of claim 19, wherein thecontainer body portion is essentially cylindrical.
 31. The container ofclaim 19, wherein the container has a capacity of 4-40 litres,preferably 15-30 litres and more preferably 20-25 litres.
 32. A systemfor distribution and dispensing of draught beer beverages, comprising: acontainer configured for draught beer beverage and blow moulded from apreform of plastics, said container having a capacity of 10-40 litres, acontainer wall of the container having a barrier against oxygen andcarbon dioxide, said container having a mouth portion, a shoulderportion, a base portion and a body portion extending between theshoulder portion and the base portion, said container being freestandingon a plurality of support legs which form part of the base portion, saidcontainer being freestanding without the provision of an outersupporting structure on the plurality of supporting legs, said containercomprising a one piece construction and being disposable; and a tubestructure comprising an elongate tube to be inserted in the containerand having an inner conduit for beverage, and a closure element to beconnected to the mouth portion of the container, wherein—in use—an innerend of the tube is located adjacent to the base portion of the containerfor passing beverage from said inner end, through said conduit and tothe closure element for dispensing.
 33. The system of claim 1, wherein asidewall thickness of the container body portion is approximately0.2-0.6 mm.